OH Taxonomy
David Davidson’s uncle, Bill Nimmo, was a professional drummer who opened a small music store on Long Island, New York in 1966. David was exposed to all sorts of instruments at an early age and for as long as he can remember, he was fascinated with the guitar. He learned all he could about vintage...
Tony Boase started his career in music when he was 16 and landed his dream job at Mersey Music, a musical instrument shop on the Wirral Merseyside near Liverpool in the early 1980s. Tony has worked with so many famous artists including Scotty Moore and Gerry and the Pacemakers through organizing...
Kyle Lehning is a recording engineer and record producer who has worked with a string of artists in Nashville beginning in the late 1960s. As a result, he has worked with the likes of Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare, Anne Murray, George Jones and Dan Seals. Kyle asked studio drummer Eddie Bayers to put...
Albie Donnelly started playing saxophone at an early age and played with Merseybeat groups in Liverpool, England. He was then signed to Virgin Records with his group, Supercharge, which he formed in 1974 with drummer, Dave Irving. Their first album, released on the Stag label, was titled Between...
Aaron Friedman was composing in his New York City apartment when he was distracted by the constant sound of car alarms. He took action and helped create a city ordinance, which led to his involvement in the city’s government. After visiting France and taking part in the country’s Make Music day...
Ozzie Yue started a group with school friends who later went on to be known as the band, The Hideaways. The Liverpool based band played in the Cavern more times than the Beatles – in fact they played the Cavern five times in one day! Besides playing for the Hideaways, Ozzie also performed in the...
Billy Butler started in the early 1960s singing with the Merseybeats group, The Tuxedos, having also sang with The Merseybeats and even performed on the same stage as The Beatles. He soon became a celebrity in Liverpool, becoming the resident DJ at the Cavern and working with Bob Wooler. He went on...
Gary Burr played trumpet in the school band and went on to become one of the top songwriters in Nashville in the 1980s and 90s. Among the many hit songs he penned were “In a Week of Two,” “Watch Me,” “I Try to Think About Elvis,” and his first million selling song, “Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on...
Steve Gibson repeated, “I’ve been blessed,” which acted as a recurring theme throughout his NAMM Oral History interview. The sentiment comes from a review of his extraordinary career as a studio musician, producer, and musical director based in Nashville. At 19 years old, in the early 1970s, he...
Vail Johnson was the seventh son in his family, all of whom played a musical instrument. It was part of life, just like eating and sleeping. His great grandmother was an opera singer and Vail was always encouraged to sing and play. His professional career hit a milestone when Kenny G hired him to...